The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States for all governmental purposes without the payment of any royalty.
In certain specialized situations there is need to employ an explosive charge device in a high voltage electrical environment. More precisely, in some instances it is desirable for an explosive charge device and its detonation/initiating apparatus to remain usable and safe from unintended detonation even though the device is arbitrarily and suddenly elevated in electrical potential from zero or ground potential to a potential of several hundred kilovolts or megavolts. The explosive charge device involved in this environment may be as small and as simple as an explosive bolt of the type often used in rocket and space applications or may be of a larger and more complex nature as needed for explosive disintegration of a larger apparatus or at least its key integration elements. The specialized situations needing this combination of explosive separation or disintegration may exist in certain military weapons environments, particularly in systems employing high-energy and/or high-voltage pulse forming networks or similar apparatus. Needs for this capability may also be found in the electrical utility field where it can be desirable to interrupt the connection between a high voltage source and its load in a simple, rapid, permanent and visible manner. Such disconnection may be appropriate between a transmission line and a transformer primary winding terminal for example.
To date, alternate arrangements having safe detonation/initiation functional capability in the presence of the dual hazards of high explosives and very high voltage are believed not to exist. Although standard explosive fuses, or chemical fuses, may be feasible for normal operation in these environmental conditions, such devices have irresolvable safety problems in an abort-or-misfire situation in, for example, a laboratory test requiring an experimental apparatus to be approached for repair or dismantling.
The present invention provides a safe and reliable apparatus and method for operating explosive-bridge-wire (EBW) detonators and associated explosive charges that are raised to electrical potentials of hundreds of thousands of volts or megavolts above a surrounding environment. The invention excludes metallic conductors in locations that could disturb electromagnetic fields or short-circuit electrical operating potentials. The invention method and apparatus also meet the safety requirements imposed in connection with explosive materials use in most test and operating environments and enables the safe handling of abort and explosive misfire situations.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an explosive material detonation apparatus and method that are usable in a very high electrical voltage environment.
It is another object of the invention to provide an explosive material detonation arrangement that is also usable in ordinary low voltage or zero voltage environments.
It is another object of the invention to provide an explosive material detonation apparatus that is relatively simple in arrangement and operation.
It is another object of the invention to provide an explosive material detonation apparatus that is manually controlled while having automatic electrical and electronic supervision functions.
It is another object of the invention to provide an explosive material detonation controller allowing safe abortion of an embarked-upon detonation program from plural controller operating states.
It is another object of the invention to provide an explosive material detonation system combining fiber optic and pneumatic communication between two major system components.
It is another object of the invention to provide an explosive material detonation apparatus providing an armed and detonation-enabled period of finite and predictable duration.
It is another object of the invention to provide an explosive material detonation system having large stray electromagnetic signal immunity.
It is another object of the invention to provide an explosive material detonation arrangement that is inclusive of a plurality of safety operating features.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved by instantly segregable elevated electrical potential apparatus comprising the combination of:
an assembly joined together in an electrically insulated, local explosive material-detonation responsive manner;
a source of elevated electrical potential connected between said assembly and a surrounding environment electrical node;
an electrically initiateable charge of explosive material located adjacent portions of said elevated electrical potential assembly;
a quantity-limited depletable source of explosive material-detonation initiating electrical energy located adjacent said charge of explosive material, said quantity-limited source of explosive material-detonation initiating electrical energy being also disposed at said elevated electrical potential with respect to said surrounding environment;
a wired conductor path inclusive of a coded optical energy responsive electrical switching element connecting said quantity-limited source of explosive material-detonation initiating electrical energy with said electrically initiateable charge of explosive material;
said quantity-limited depletable source of explosive material-detonation initiating electrical energy, said wired conductor path, and said coded optical energy responsive electrical switching element comprising an explosive material firing module also disposed at said elevated electrical potential with respect to said surrounding environment;
a detonation controlling module coupled with said firing module by a multiple parallel path fiber optic optical energy signal transmission apparatus;
said multiple parallel path fiber optic optical energy signal transmission apparatus being also electrically non conducting with respect to said elevated electrical potential of said assembly;
said detonation controlling module including electrical circuit means defining a successive sequence plurality of detonation controlling module and firing module operating states including an initial off state, a final state initiating detonating of said electrically initiateable charge of explosive material and a plurality of intermediate operating states;
said detonation controlling module and said firing module including optical signal transmission and reception means for communicating optical signals indicative of existence of selected of said detonation controlling module operating states between said detonation controlling module and said firing module coded optical energy-responsive electrical switching element via said multiple parallel path fiber optic optical energy signal transmission apparatus;
said detonation controlling module and said firing module including optical signal transmission and reception means for communicating optical signals indicative of existence of selected of said firing module operating states between said firing module and said detonation controlling module via said multiple parallel path fiber optic optical energy signal transmission apparatus;
said detonation controlling module also including manually electable operating state termination inputs enabling premature, and non detonating of said explosive material, resetting termination of a selected plurality of said intermediate states in said detonation controlling module and said firing module;
said quantity-limited depletable source of explosive material initiation electrical energy enabling time duration predictions of detonation energy available possible detonating of said explosive material and ensuing commencement of a remainder, insufficient detonation energy available, safe explosive material handling time;
manual operating means for initiating detonation of said explosive material upon transition through a selected plurality of said detonation controlling module and firing module operating states.